Jim Broadbent
| birth_place = Holton cum Beckering, Lincolnshire, England | residence = North West London, England | death_date = | death_place = | education = London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1972–present | spouse = | children = }} James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film Iris (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for his leading role as Lord Longford in the television film Longford (2006). Broadbent received four BAFTA Film Award nominations and won one for his performance in Moulin Rouge! (2001). He was also nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Broadbent played Horace Slughorn in the fantasy films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). He joined the cast of the television series Game of Thrones, playing a role of Archmaester Ebrose, in the seventh season (2017). His other notable roles were in Topsy-Turvy (1999), The Gathering Storm (2002), And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007), Hot Fuzz (2007), Another Year (2010), The Iron Lady (2011), and the Paddington films (2014, 2017). Early life Broadbent was born on 24 May 1949 in Holton cum Beckering,"It's a Golden Globe for Jim Broadbent", Louth Leader, 14 January 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2011 in Lincolnshire, the second son of Doreen "Dee" Broadbent (née Findlay), a sculptor, and Roy Laverick Broadbent, an artist, sculptor, interior designer and furniture maker. Broadbent's parents were both amateur actors who co-founded the Holton Players acting troupe at Holton. The two have been described by the BBC as conscientious objectors who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II. In Wickenby, a former Methodist Chapel was purchased in 1970 by Holton Players, who converted it into a 100-seat theatre, named Broadbent Theatre in memory of Roy Broadbent, who designed the conversion. Broadbent had a twin sister who died at birth. Broadbent was educated at Leighton Park School, a Quaker school in Reading, and briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1972.Newsmakers, Issue 4. Gale, 2008 His early stage work included appearances as Patrick Barlow's assistant in the mock National Theatre of Brent. Career Broadbent's early stagework included a number of productions for The National Theatre of Brent as the downtrodden assistant Wallace to Patrick Barlow's self-important actor/manager character Desmond Olivier Dingle. Broadbent and Barlow played many male and female character roles in comically less-than-epic tellings of historical and religious stories, such as The Complete Guide to Sex, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Revolution!!, and All The World's A Globe. These were hits at the Edinburgh Fringe, in London, and on tour. Later stage work included the original productions of Kafka's Dick (1986) and Our Country's Good (1988) at the Royal Court Theatre and work for the Royal National Theatre including "The Government Inspector". Work on the stage with Mike Leigh includes Goosepimples and Ecstasy. He had worked with Stephen Frears in The Hit (1984) and Terry Gilliam in Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985) before establishing himself in Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet (1990). Broadbent played the lead role of the 1993 TV film Wide-Eyed and Legless, known as The Wedding Gift outside of the UK. Based on a true story, the drama tells of the author Deric Longden's final years of marriage to his first wife Diana (Julie Walters) in the early 1980s and her fight against an illness which doctors then did not understand, later believed to be a form of chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis. The film also featured Thora Hird as Deric Longden's mother Annie and Sian Thomas who played Aileen Armitage, the novelist who would become Longden's second wife in 1990. He proved his ability as a character actor in films including The Crying Game (1992), Enchanted April (1992), Bullets over Broadway (1994), The Borrowers (1997), and Little Voice (1998) before taking a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy (1999), playing dramatist Sir William S. Gilbert. He played "The Shy Doctor" in the 1999 Comic Relief parody Doctor Who sketch, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. In 2001, Broadbent starred in three of the year's most successful films: Richard Curtis' Bridget Jones's Diary, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, and Richard Eyre's Iris, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. . In 2002, he appeared in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York and in the film adaptation of Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby (2002 film). Broadbent voiced Madame Gasket in the 2005 film Robots. Broadbent also appeared as DCI Roy Slater, an associate character in the enormously popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The character appeared in three episodes over an eight-year period. He had originally been offered the lead role of Del Boy in the series, but he turned it down due to other commitments. He has also played a role in the Inspector Morse series. Other comic roles include the lead role in the sitcom The Peter Principle and occasional guest appearances in Not The Nine O'Clock News, Only Fools and Horses, and Victoria Wood As Seen on TV. He portrayed Don Speekingleesh in "The Queen of Spain's Beard" in the first series of The Black Adder in 1983. He also played the role of Prince Albert in Blackadder's Christmas Carol, first broadcast in 1988. He joined Rowan Atkinson in his Spider-Man spoof Spider-Plant Man, as a disgruntled Batman, jealous of Spider-Plant Man's success. Broadbent portrayed the title role in the Channel 4 drama Longford in October 2006, earning a BAFTA TV Award, a Golden Globe, and a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance as Frank Pakenham (1905–2001), Earl of Longford, which was centred on Longford's ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the parole of Myra Hindley from her life imprisonment for the Moors Murders. Broadbent appeared as Inspector Frank Butterman in Hot Fuzz in 2007. He appeared in the original radio production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, playing the character Vroomfondel. Forty years later, he took the role of Marvin in the Hexagonal Phase radio series. He was also a regular in Stephen Fry's radio comedy show Saturday Night Fry, which aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. In 2008, he starred as pro-Newtonian physicist Sir Oliver Lodge in the fact-based single drama Einstein and Eddington for the BBC. Broadbent also briefly appeared in the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and in The Young Victoria (2009) alongside Emily Blunt as King William IV. Broadbent joined a long list of British actors by appearing in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as well as the final movie in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 as Horace Slughorn In 2009, he portrayed Sam Longson, chairman of Derby County football club in the 1960s and 1970s, in the film The Damned United; the starring character in the film was football manager Brian Clough, played by Michael Sheen. In 2010, he provided the voice for the character Major Mouse in a series of radio advertisements and one produced for television for an energy company, E.ON, for their eonenergyfit.com website campaign. He also starred as the older Logan Mountstuart in the TV adaptation of William Boyd's novel Any Human Heart. He had a lead role in Exile, a BBC One drama, starring John Simm and written by Danny Brocklehurst. In 2010, Broadbent reunited with director Mike Leigh, in Another Year with Ruth Sheen, and Lesley Manville. The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or. According to review aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of critics have given the film a positive review, with the critical consensus reading, "Characterized by strong performances and the director's trademark feel for the nuances of everyday life, Another Year marks another solid entry in Mike Leigh's career of kitchen-sink English drama."https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/another_year_2010 In 2012, he played Denis Thatcher opposite legendary actress Meryl Streep as the former Prime Minister in The Iron Lady. Streep won her third Academy Award for her performance. That same year he also starred in Cloud Atlas (film). In 2014, he starred in Roger Mitchell's critically acclaimed drama film, Le Week-End alongside Lindsay Duncan. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 89% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 148 reviews, with an average score of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Topped with bittersweet humor but possessing surprisingly thorny depths, Le Week-End offers a sophisticated, well-acted portrait of late-life struggles and long-term marriage."https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/le_week_end In 2015, Broadbent starred in the Oscar nominated film Brooklyn alongside Saoirse Ronan, Domhnaal Gleeson, and Julie Walters. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 256 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Brooklyn buttresses outstanding performances from Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen with a rich period drama that tugs at the heartstrings as deftly as it satisfies the mind."https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brooklyn The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture. Later that year he also appeared in a bit role in Alan Bennett's comedy film The Lady in the Van (2015) alongside Maggie Smith, and Alex Jennings. Broadbent has also appeared in the critically acclaimed British comedy films, Paddington (2014), and Paddington 2 (2018) alongside Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, and Ben Whishaw. In 2016, he was cast in the massively popular Emmy Award winning HBO series seventh season of the HBO series Game of Thrones. On 28 May 2018, he played Gloucester in the BBC Two's of King Lear. In 2018, he played Hans Christian Andersen in the premiere of Martin McDonagh's play A Very Very Very Dark Matter at the Bridge Theatre in London. The Bridge Theatre|website=The Bridge Theatre|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-20}} Filmography Selected filmography Personal life Broadbent has been married to painter and former theatre designer Anastasia Lewis since 1987. He is an atheist. Awards and nominations Academy Awards Primetime Emmy Awards Golden Globe Award Screen Actors Guild Awards BAFTA Film & TV Awards Other awards Other awards and honours * 2004: Nominated Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for Winnie-the-Pooh. * 2007: British Independent Film Awards—Richard Harris Award Broadbent was offered an OBE in 2002, but he declined it, stating that there were more deserving recipients than actors and that the British Empire was not something he wanted to “celebrate”. Broadbent was made an Honorary Associate of London Film School. References External links * * * * Biography on the Broadbent Theatre website * Interview with Broadbent at the BAFTA website }} Category:1949 births Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor Golden Globe winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:English atheists Category:English male film actors Category:English male stage actors Category:English male television actors Category:English male voice actors Category:Living people Category:People educated at Leighton Park School Category:People from Lincoln, England Category:Volpi Cup winners Category:20th-century English male actors Category:21st-century English male actors Category:Male actors from Lincolnshire Category:International Emmy Award for Best Actor winners